Howe and Pugh headed into Wednesday’s second round tied for first after both shot a 71 during the opening session at Cross Creek Golf Club.

On Wednesday, there wasn’t much separation between the two as the pair was locked in a tie between holes 9-12.

Overcoming a bogey at hole 13, Pugh made consecutive birdies at 14 and 15 to put pressure on his teammate.

Howe would rise to the occassion, though. With his ball in a hazard in brush on a hill on the 14th, Howe was able to plant his ball right on the green, which set up a makeable putt on his fifth stroke to save par.

At No. 15, Pugh launched a tee shot that traveled so far that it stopped nearly 10 feet short of the green on a par-4. However, Howe responded with a birdie of his own by sinking a chip shot from just off the green.

“You can’t expect someone to miss,” Pugh said. “You gotta expect them to make it. There was a few times where I was just like, 'This is awesome.' It was definitely a fun match.”

Howe unlocked the tie at the 16th hole by recording a birdie while Pugh bogeyed the par-3 with putt trouble.

“It was just a battle,” Howe said. “That’s one of the toughest rounds I have ever played.”

Freshman Kendel Hodges finished third (152) as the Wolfpack took the first three spots at the league tournament for the first time since 2010 when Tommy Lozon, Doug Head and Alex Forss finished 1-2-3.

Murrieta Valley qualified three golfers ---- Sage Casaga (153), Kyle Bachelor (155) and Dane Casaga (155) ---- for the CIF Individual Regional at Riverside’s Victoria Country Club on May 13.

Sage Casaga and Bachelor, both sophomores and first-time CIF qualifiers, had the opportunity to play with the Howe and Pugh in the lead group Wednesday.

“I feel like I learned a lot out there, how to compose yourself and don’t get too angry out there,” said Bachelor, a long ball striker. “Just keep looking forward to the next shot.”

Chaparral’s Don Luvsan reached the CIF SS postseason for the second straight year after shooting 154. It was a remarkable showing for Luvsan after he finished 20th in the league in scoring average this season.

“It was kind of expected honestly,” Luvsan said. “I kind of worked hard all year. It didn’t really show earlier, but I came through in the end.”